Lloyd Bradley Isdell was born July 5, 1970, in Springfield, Missouri, the older son of Dorothy Ann Isdell and Lloyd Derald Isdell. He passed away unexpectedly March 10, 2026, at the age of 55.
Like his father, he went by his middle name, so he was known as Brad to his many friends. Like both his parents, he was an outgoing and gregarious personality. With his trademark smile and welcoming manner that could light up a room and put everyone at ease, he never met a stranger.
Brad said it best himself, in his personal description on Facebook: “I’m a lover, I’m a fighter, I’m a wild bull rider, and I’m a pretty good windmill man!”
Brad grew up in Bolivar with his younger brother, Barry. Their parents owned and operated Town & Country Building Supply, a successful lumberyard. He graduated from Bolivar High School in 1988.
In high school, Brad was active in both 4-H and FFA, earning the State Farmer degree in 1987 and the American Farmer degree in 1991. The Isdell family lived on a farm east of town, and they raised Simmental beef cattle. Brad exhibited cattle at local, state, and national shows.
It was while showing cattle at the Missouri State Fair in 1984 that Brad and Barry got to meet President Ronald Regan, when he made a campaign stop in Sedalia. The boys were in the steer barn when Secret Service agents swept through, only allowing children to stay and closing the giant sliding doors – a notable move on what Reagan himself described as a “boiling hot” August day.
“He came in and walked up and down the aisles, talking and meeting the kids,” Barry recounted. They shook hands with the President while photographers recorded the events, resulting in one-of-a-kind keepsake photos complete with Reagan’s signature.
A few years later, just after he turned 16, Brad spent five weeks with a Japanese family, living just outside Tokyo as part of the 4-H International Student Exchange Program. That came after his parents had hosted a Japanese exchange student at their home in Bolivar.
Brad found the experience to be “pretty neat,” he told his hometown newspaper, the Bolivar Herald-Free Press. And it would lay the groundwork for more international student exchanges to come – and instill a lifelong love of travel.
After high school, Brad headed to Columbia where he attended the University of Missouri. He joined FarmHouse fraternity, and he graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics.
Brad met Jennifer Allen of Lockwood while they were in high school – she was a freshman and he was a senior – on a 4-H citizenship trip to Jefferson City, which culminated with a dance in the state Capitol Rotunda. After a long-distance romance, the high school sweethearts were married September 2, 1995,
and they celebrated their 30th anniversary last year. They have two sons, Ian Isdell, a firefighter/EMT in Kansas City, and Owen Isdell, a freshman at Mizzou.
After college, Brad worked in the family lumberyard business, first in Clinton where he spent five years at Golden Valley Building Supply. In 1997, Brad and Jennifer expanded Town & Country Building Supply by opening a new store in Higginsville, which they operated for 15 years.
Since 2014, Brad has worked at several business and financial service companies, including First Command Financial Services, CPros Inc., and most recently at Sheehan Financial.
Wherever his family lived – from Clinton to Higginsville to Concordia – Brad was involved in community service.
In Clinton, Brad served as president of the Optimist Club. He was honored as Optimist of the Year in 1995, and was joined at the event by his father, who was a longtime Optimist in Bolivar. He later joined the Higginsville Optimist Club, where he served as lieutenant governor.
In Higginsville, Brad also served as president of the Rotary Club, where he received the Paul Harris Fellow Award.
Brad was a devoted Freemason in Higginsville, where he was a 32° Master Mason, Past Master of Higginsville Lodge No. 364, a member of the Kansas City Scottish Rite, a lifetime member of the Ararat Shrine of Kansas City, and a member of The Royal Order of Jesters Court #54.
When his sons were growing up, Brad enjoyed watching them play sports – soccer, football, track, and swimming – while cheering on their accomplishments. They have long been part of the Warrensburg Piranhas Swim Team, where Brad was known as “Mr. Goggle” by the swim families.
“Those who knew Brad knew joy, companionship, and fun,” recalled Hannah Bullock, a swim team member who said Brad treated her like his “swim daughter” and exerted a positive influence on her life. That included a bittersweet moment when they danced at her wedding after the death of her father.
Brad was also active at Saint Paul Lutheran High School in Concordia, where both of his sons attended school. Drawing on his own experience as a high school student in Japan, Brad loved to meet and host the international students at Saint Paul, where about a third of the students come from other countries.
He also encouraged his sons to travel internationally, and both followed in his footsteps by taking part in the 4-H International Student Exchange Program. Ian spent time in Costa Rica, while Owen went to Japan. Brad and Jennifer also have hosted three Japanese students as part of the program.
Tokunbo Ohikhena Babor-Egeregor described Brad as “truly larger than life” as she recounted how the Isdell family generously opened their home to her 14-year-old twin boys from Nigeria when they were students at Saint Paul.
“We knew we had family in Concordia,” she said. The boys spent breaks living with the Isdell family, where they drove to soccer games and sent pictures home to the boys’ parents. Brad even knew their favorite meals. The two families had plans to be together in May when the twins will graduate from Saint Louis University.
“You have been a huge part of our lives and every milestone in their lives,” their mother said.
Brad especially loved to travel – cruising to tropical destinations, soaking up the sunshine and warm breezes, and enjoying every moment of life. Brad and Jennifer took numerous cruises with friends, and they had several planned for the future. At his funeral service, guests were asked to honor him by wearing bright, colorful, tropical clothing.
“Brad was the life of the party and will be greatly missed,” said Allison Roepe Rankin, a friend from Concordia. “I’m so grateful we had our last cruise together most recently and spent one of the most fun days together on the catamaran.”
Brad and Jennifer’s hospitality also extends to a cottage in Concordia they rent to visitors through Airbnb, where the house is listed as a “guest favorite” and Brad is credited as a “superhost.” It’s known as Das Gästehaus Bed & Breakfast, which means “the guest house” in German, a nod to the history and heritage of Concordia.
That hospitality was put to the test after Catherine Hartshorn visited Concordia, renting the guest house while visiting her son at nearby Whiteman Air Force Base. After several unsuccessful efforts to find someone to help her son get his house ready to sell, she reached out to Brad – an Airbnb host whom she’d never met – on a whim that turned out to be serendipitous.
Within days, Brad found a contractor to do the work, and the house soon sold. Catherine recounted her experience for the local newspaper, including her trip back to Concordia to take Brad and Jennifer out to dinner.
“I am truly thankful that Brad was willing to help out a stranger and use his own time to look for someone who was trustworthy,” she said in the article that appeared under this appropriate headline: “Good Hearted Humans Do Still Exist.”
Brad was preceded in death by his parents, Derald and Dorothy. He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Jennifer, and their two sons, Ian and Owen, along with his younger brother, Barry, and his wife, Laura, of McKinney, Texas, and their children Aiden and Brynn.
Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 21, 2026, at Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home in Concordia. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. prior to the service. An online guestbook is available at www.campbell-lewis.com
In lieu of flowers, the Isdell family requested that contributions be made to the Lafayette County 4-H/FFA Fair in Higginsville. Brad served on the fair board, following the legacy of his parents, who were longtime supporters of the Polk County Fair Association in Bolivar. They shared a common goal of providing positive opportunities and experiences for future generations.
Catherine, who only met Brad by chance, summed up the feelings of many who knew him for a lifetime: “He truly was a great man with a huge heart. And most of all, he was a good human.”
Source: KMZU, The Farm
